Belarus to supply Zim $43 million Agric equipment

Published: 01 March 2018

The Belarus and Zimbabwean governments will sign a Memorandum of Agreement for the supply of $43 million worth of agriculture equipment, a visiting envoy said on Thursday.

Belarus chief of Presidential Affairs general Victor Sheiman said this after meeting President Emmerson Mnangagwa and Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister Sibusiso Moyo at their Munhumutapa offices.

General Sheiman told journalists after the meeting that Belarus is committed to conducting serious bilateral cooperation with Zimbabwe in the energy, agriculture, transport and logistics sectors.

"We are ready to work in various issues in the Republic of Zimbabwe for their mining activities, energy projects, construction, agriculture machines and technology, supply and transport logistics and equipment.

"Right now just at this moment we will sign contracts for agriculture worth $43 million to supply all agriculture equipment including tractors and other agriculture equipment to Zimbabwe. Besides the agricultural equipment, I will also sign a contract for the forestry machinery that is going to be used in light industries here in Zimbabwe to benefit forestry industry. It is around $15 million also under the same facility," he said.

He said Belarus would, after signing the agreements, deploy technical experts to Zimbabwe to begin work on implementing the various deals.

"After we sign our agreements of cooperation, I promise you that I will send thousands of my technical specialists here to implement what we would have signed on our bilateral level," he said.

General Sheiman said he expected trade between Zimbabwe and Belarus to increase.

"My goal is for $1 billion trade between our two countries," he said.

In 2015, Zimbabwe and Belarus signed a $150 million Memorandum of Agreement in four areas namely, road and dam construction, mining, agriculture, municipal and other equipment.